Replacing existing lawn, help please?

Hi,

We are considering a new lawn for the back garden but would appreciate some advice of best practices. If I could set the scene a little first;

The current lawn is around 30sqft and slopes downhill from the back of the property, most likely a good 4ft drop. The previous occupier kept chickens so there are a good many deep ruts and generally the entire lawn is very uneven. Add to this the fact that it appears different types of turf have been laid to cover area's over the years. We tend to get large 'clumps' of grass growing quicker than the rest. The lawn is relatively weed free as we killed the majority off as soon as we moved in......dandelions are a thing of the past for this lawn!! The bottom end of the lawn tends to get quite water logged as the water drains this way [surprise, surprise] but also receives the shortest amount of sun time!

I did take photo's some time ago but they didn't show the true extent of the unevenness and rutts etc.

So, my questions are as follows;

1. Can we just rotavate the old grass?
2. Would we need to topsoil the entire area?
3. If not, would we need to mix any sand or the like whilst rotavating?
4. What type of turf would be best? We would need something relatively robust as we are a family with young kids.

We did consider trying to fix the current lawn but came to the conclusion that to really enjoy the lawn we would want one which we knew was laid well and would be a joy to care for, which the current lawn most certainly is not.

 

Welcome to Gardeners Corner Scatz. May I suggest that you take a look at the other threads here in the lawn section, they will be of help to you as other members have similar issues.

 

That's quite a slope ...

That will be solved, if it is "generally smooth but with ruts", by spreading top soil over and over-seedling. Autumn would be the best time.

That doesn't sound like "different turf" - different turf would show as whole areas of different grass / colour, rather than clumps.

If you have clumps of "coarse" grass in the lawn you need to mow frequently - never less than once a week - because the coarse grasses won't survive being mowed frequently. Don't cut off more than 1/3rd of the grass height (ignore the coarse grass, which may be taller, this is finer grasses that you want to encourage)

Is there anywhere, lower, that the water could be drained to? If so you could put a land-drain in, otherwise you'd need a soakaway as well as a land drain - or just live with it.

I would repair it. Lot of work to start again, and on a slope its even more work. Only reason I would choose to start again is if the "soil" is actually full of buried builders rubble or similar. You can't just sow grass seed, or put down turf, without proper preparation - so you'd have to do all the preparation work (whether turf or seed), and then have to look after it this summer (tricky if you have a hosepipe ban in your area).

If you can live with it for this summer then mow it weekly, without fail!, which will start to tame the coarse grasses, and then in early Autumn spread topsoil over it to fill the follows, and over seed it. By next Spring it will look like smart.

Using seed you can choose exactly what blend of grass you get - something suitable for hard-wearing, and also for the slope / shade / etc.

Buying turf you are likely to be much more restricted on choice for grass varieties unless you have a specific delivery (which for the size of area you have may be prudent anyway). Have a look at Rolawn website for Turf, they are the brand leaders and that will give you an idea of the range available, and cost.

 

Thanks for the reply Kristen

Maybe not quite 4ft but definitely more than 2ft

Not at all generally smooth. It's a right state; ruts, lumps, bumps, you name it, it's most likely got it!

Oh, I can assure you it is different turf. When we moved in you could see where they had laid strips here and strips there! This is where a lot of the lumps and bumps have come from as they haven't prepped the area where they laid turf, just chucked it ontop of the existing area's!

I've been trying to mow it once a week but with the weather the way it is it's nigh on impossible.

The land behind us does keep on a downward slope into a stream that runs a little way from the back of the garden. Having been out in the garden yesterday, it appears the soil is predominantly clay as it's very slippy and waterlogged....the entire garden not just the bottom end!

How's a land drain work then....what does it involve?

 

Are you sure you've got your numbers right? 30 square foot, assuming a perfect square, is only about 5'6"x 5'6". A 4ft drop on that would give you close to 45 degrees gradient. Do you mean 30ft square?

 

Yes, you are correct.....30 ft square

 

So what is the size of your lawn ?

At the moment you are stating it is the size of a double bed in the bedroom, and for a four foot run off you would have to have the headboard end of the bed on the window sill ?

Jack McH

 

30 ft square would be 30ft x 30 ft = 900 sq.ft or 85 sq.m

 

We've established its 30ft square now Jack I.e. 30ft by 30ft (assuming perfect square), as opposed to double bed sized

Feet squared or square feet, a regular point of confusion (and also the reason so many people can't dance).

 

I can square dance, does that help?!!

 

Simple error when typing.....30ft by 30ft [5 6ft fence panels down and 5 6ft panels across] the perfect square. Without setting up a line I can only guestimate the drop but if I stood at the bottom corner and looked at a 45° angle it would almost certainly be a parallelogram

Oh, and I can't dance...........at all

For now, as money is tight I'm gonna do the best I can and keep it mown. Seriously considering moving when our tenancy is up due to noisy neighbours anyhow [recent decision] so it might not be an issue.

Thanks for the info you have provided which has definitely given me food for thought